We took a walk in the highlands in the morning. Mark had seen the town where we could hang out in the morning on previous trips and knew we'd have a chunk of time free that morning. So, he asked John to take us up to a freshwater lake. I could not stand the thought of them going without me and seeing a new bird, which I'd miss, so we went.

The ride in the back of the pickup was 20 minutes of hell on sick intestines. The walk was steep but OK. We walked all the way around the lake, and sure enough, saw a new bird species-the common gallinule. This brings the final count to 54 bird species identified on the trip (not counting any I could not confirm myself) plus one mystery bird which we hope Thalia's father can identify from photos.

I felt really quite ill during the even worse ride back down and ate very little lunch (I think if I ever see another chunk of meat or fish on my plate, I will be ill right there-yuck! Time to get back to my vegetarian ways). I was very happy to be in our hotel in Quito with a clean bathroom.

On our arrival into Quito, with only about 30 minutes, we cleaned up and headed out to a farewell dinner at Casa De La Lado (literally, The House Next Door-the owner lives next to the restaurant). The appetizers were great, but it was more breaded fish. Aiee! Neither Glen nor I ate much of it, but I enjoyed the vegetables.

At last, we headed for bed. I was happy to have big fluffy pillows and soft clean covers and cooler temps. The trip was fantastic, but we enjoyed these comforts nonetheless.